


Half-Gem

by Dodogama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), F/F, F/M, Gem/Human Relationships (Steven Universe), Half-Gem Peridot, OOC characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21802828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dodogama/pseuds/Dodogama
Summary: Peridot was a strange case, she was very different.She soaked up information like a sponge and was incredibly anxious. But the most interesting part was the green gem in the middle of her forehead.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 126





	1. Beach City

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in a universe where everything happened normally (including after Steven Universe: Future) minus the presence of Peridot.

Getting on a Greyhound with virtually all your possessions is not one of the things Peridot imagined herself doing.

The trip to Beach city from Empire city was approximately eight-ish hours, so Peridot considered herself lucky that she actually remembered to pay her phone bill this month and charged her phone last night as well.

Boarding the bus in the middle of the afternoon may have not been the best of choices though. It was crowded and being a five-foot anxious young adult carrying several bags packed to the brim with her belongings wasn’t the best choice. She just hoped the neon green bandana covering her forehead would stay in place for those eight hours.

Shrugging her bag tighter onto her shoulder, she told the driver where she wanted to go and got to the task of finding a seat, preferably two and in the back. Edging her way to the back of the Greyhound she saw what she was hoping for and sped up to reach the two empty seats in the very back.

Settling down in the one closest to the window and stacking the two duffel bags into the seat next to her and placing her backpack full of electronic devices between her short legs. Peridot extracted her black and green phone from her pocket, along with similarly themed Skullcandy earbuds.

The bus jolted forward with a start and the trip to Beach City has officially begun for Peridot Greene.

Unlocking her phone, Peridot opened Spotify and started her playlist. Aimlessly gazing out the window, tall buildings of too important corporations went by, slowly changing into the smaller apartment buildings she was used to, then to your everyday suburban house.

She huffed already tired of sitting in the seat with strangers all around her. But Peridot couldn’t do anything about it now could she. Checking the time on her phone, she resisted the urge to groan, it’s only been 40 minutes. She was getting anxious, and that was bad.

Whenever Peridot got anxious, or scared or had any emotion in large doses metalloid objects tended to… react. Now, she doesn’t do it on purpose, Peridot doesn’t even know how to control it! It just… happens. And sometimes it can be dangerous. Just the other day when she had found out about the famed half-gem Steven Universe, she sent a tea kettle across the room that almost hit her in the head out of excitement.

Taking a deep breath, holding it, then exhaling it slowly, Peridot tried to calm down. She didn’t want to end up the cause of a whole bus full of people’s demise after only just finding out what she may be.

Looking back out the window to her right, she unconsciously ghosted a pale hand over the middle of her forehead. Behind that bandana rested an inverted triangular green gem, a peridot, her namesake.

Nobody knew why it was there imbedded into her skull like that. She was supposedly born like it, a bright green gem embedded into her forehead. The doctors would’ve removed it if it weren’t for the fact that it was the only thing keeping her brain from spilling out. 

She had a sneaking suspicion that her father - a handsome, tall and thickset Greek-Irish man - knew something about it, but wouldn’t say a thing about it. He just said it was nothing to be ashamed of, it was what made Peridot, well Peridot.

He cared deeply for Peridot, a very kind and caring man that would do anything to make sure his baby was comfortable. He would tell stories of aliens coming to Earth to take over but being fought against by their own kind, a rebellion. Every time she was fascinated, looking to the stars to try and see any of those aliens he would talk about.

Whenever Peridot would come home from school with bruises and scrapes from people who would make fun of her “mutation” he would always comfort her, telling her she was a gem and should be proud of how she looked. That it was a beauty mark, and people were only jealous because they wanted to shine like her.

Peridot smiled fondly at the memories of her childhood. They moved often as a child, first, she and her father lived in Athens Greece until she was eight. Then to Waterford Ireland to live with her grandparents. Then they finally moved to Empire City in her Junior year of high school. Yeah, she knew three languages, so what?

Peridot never knew why she moved so often in her 23 years of life, her father only said it was because of work, but he was a mechanic. Not really something that needed a lot of moving, especially being a single father with a child frequently bullied. Not that Peridot necessarily minded, she loved seeing all these different sights. As well as learning so many different languages, it was fun, exciting even!

Now she was moving again, not as far as the times before, but still. She hated to be leaving her father, she loved the kind man. He was like a burly teddy bear, he was the one who encouraged her to keep going to college even after the accident. The one who would listen to her ranting about stupid shows and encouraged her in pursuing her goal of becoming a mechanical engineer. He was even  _ proud  _ of when she came out to him about being gay.

And at the end of it all, when she told him about her discovery of Little Homeworld and about people there who may know what she was, he cried and told her to go. That he would have something to tell her about her mother once she came back. He rarely talked about her mom - let alone cried - other than that the two of them were very similar personality-wise and in stature (he was tall, Peridot definitely didn’t get height from him).

This only encouraged her more to go to Beach City, and saying her final goodbyes she boarded the Greyhound.

Coming back to reality, Peridot saw the Moon had risen. Checking her phone again she saw it would only be several more hours until they reached Beach City. The bus driver then announced that they were going to make a rest-stop, whilst pulling into one.

Once they parked Peridot grabbed her backpack (she couldn’t fathom someone stealing her precious electronics) and everyone exited. She made her way to the bathrooms while popping her back, and stretching out kicking the sleepiness away. She made her way to the handicap stalls.

After locking the stall door, she took the neon green bandana off. For some odd reason, if the gem was covered for too long of times she would feel a sense of suffocation and feel hotter than normal. It was as though it had to breathe, it was weird and perplexed herself and doctors even more.

Wiping her brow (and gem) Peridot took a deep breath, suddenly anxious as to what may await her at the end of this trip. She knew she would have a place to stay, her dad helped her rent a small apartment out for a bit and she had money to last at least a couple months, no that wasn’t it. What if they couldn’t help her, what if she was just some freak, what if it is just some mutation, what if-

The metal toilet paper holder started rattling and she could feel the electronics in her bag start shifting, and her left leg starts moving involuntarily. Quickly grabbing her metal thermos of ice water she took a few big gulps.  _ Deep breaths Peridot, don’t freak out, you’ll be fine. _

The metal stopped reacting, and she sighed. Refolding the bandana, Peridot retied it around her forehead. This was why she hid her emotions, she didn’t want to hurt anyone, let alone herself. She would hate herself if she ever did, they didn’t deserve to be hurt just because she couldn’t keep herself under control. Bottling stuff up was her specialty, so Peridot would have to do just that.

She successfully used the bathroom, with minor problems from her leg. After leaving the stall she reached the bathroom sink and mirror. Seeing the bright blonde hair defying gravity - like always - still vaguely resembling a triangle. Her normally bright green eyes were now dull and tired. Dark semi-circles pooled under her eyes. Her little “button nose” (as her father cutely nicknamed) with her large owlish oval-shaped green-tinted glasses perched on top. The normal dusting of freckles over her telltale Irish skin (very pale) lay behind the glass barrier. And lastly the bright green bandana across her forehead, she hated the thing but she hated her gem even more, no matter how many times her father told her she was beautiful the way she was. Her expression was painfully neutral.

Washing her hands and lightly splashing her face - minding the bandana - Peridot left the confines of the bathroom and made her way back to the bus. Luckily it was still there, and she climbed aboard for the second time that day.

While walking past people to her seat in the far back, she overheard a few girls talking to their groups about how they think the bathroom was haunted. Due to the fact that some objects started abruptly shaking. Peridot rolled her eyes at this, telling herself to be more careful.

Sitting back down Peridot put her bag back and checked her duffels, they were good. She’d be damned if someone stole something, for such a tiny woman she could be scary when mad, with or without ferrokinesis.

She turned her volume up and leaned against the window, noting herself subconsciously to not fully pass out. Even when sleep-deprived, Peridot was smart. The bus restarted and over the sound of her music, Peridot heard the bus driver ask if everyone was here/settled (personally Peridot didn’t see the point of asking that but, whatever) and said that they would be reaching Beach city at three in the morning which was in four more hours.

Peridot closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the oncoming ache of sleeping against a window for a few hours. This would be an all-new kind of hell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up to having your head slammed against the back of a bus seat, was not ideal. Don’t mind the fact it was a public bus, ew.

After fixing her now smudged and crooked glasses Peridot looked outside, it was dark but they were coming upon a city (or rather a brightly lit town with a cluster of taller buildings with, were those giant radars?!) in the distance on the edge of a beach. Peridot shuddered, subconsciously rubbing the sore skin of her left thigh.

The bus moved again and they started heading towards the “city” (if you could even call it that, more like larger than average town). Peridot fidgeted nervously, messing with the silver gear fidget ring a friend of hers bought her for Christmas claiming “Because of how fidgety and nervous you get, I got this for you. That way you don’t embarrass yourself (us) again”. They stopped talking after that, but the gift was nice.

The bus entered the city limits and the driver announced that they had reached Beach City and would be stopping soon. Peridot sighed in both relief and growing nervousness, but first, sleep. Lying against a window while wearing glasses was not the best for her back, or neck, or anything really. It wasn’t even good sleep.

The bus stopped and the few passengers left got up, Peridot readjusted her bandana to make sure it was covering what it needed to and equipped her backpack. She threw back on the two duffel bags onto each shoulder and turned her music down. She walked down the bus aisle and paid the driver while thanking him, he hummed in return, apparently too tired to respond. She had half a mind to call him a clod but was too tired to do so.

Leaving the bus and stepping onto the sidewalk, the smell of  _ fresh  _ ocean without the usual smog and trash from Empire City hit her nostrils. The environment here was clearly much healthier and cleaner than Empire City, she almost forgot what slightly clean air smelled like.

Peridot would’ve enjoyed it if it weren’t for the memories that came with the beach (and water in general). She had to hold back a shudder and breathed in, and out. Prepping herself for the journey of finding her apartment, and how exhausted she would be (and already is) afterwards.

She had gotten off at one of those bus plazas and went to sit down at a bench, limping slightly. Settling down and checking her phone, it was three - almost four - in the morning. She moved over to the Uber app she had installed all those years ago after moving to Empire and ordered a car to come to pick her up. Success.

Returning her phone back to her pocket, Peridot looked around and took in what was Beach City. Her new home, at least until her self appointed quest was completed to the best of her ability. The city was small compared to what she was used to.

It was more of a large beach town, the buildings well kept and the locals clearly loved it here. Little to no trash littered the ground, and there was a trash can at least every three blocks. She could faintly see the boardwalk and a Ferris wheel along with roller coaster in the distance, surprisingly they were still running.

Looking towards the taller buildings, Peridot found herself looking towards what she knew as “Little Homeworld”, dubbed that from what she could gather from the numerous articles she had read on the place and its entirety.

Apparently, aliens were real, they’ve been here all along and had already invaded the Earth thousands of years ago but a rebellion took place from one of their own leaders that undertook a persona. They were called gems and had gems that projected light forms and were what you saw, sorta like a hologram.

Peridot had a suspicion that they and herself were similar - minus the hologram part, she got hurt easily. Peridot knew of Steven Universe, the famed saviour of the Earth and universe itself. She also knew he was human and had a gem. Peridot could only hope she would get help, or at least an explanation.

Little Homeworld was, little… ish. The buildings were tall similar to skyscrapers, just not yet to that height. They held no architecture Peridot was used to and was very, different. One of them had two spinning semi-circles on top, it looked like a radar or satellite dish.

The weirdest thing was the flying objects that went by every once in a while, that resembled people. It was strange but Peridot’s sleepy mind didn’t do anything, she didn’t want to overthink things too much.

Huffing, Peridot returned her attention to the ocean. The moon glittered behind her and reflected the ocean’s waves. But what caught Peridot’s attention was the flying figure lazily gliding just above the water.

It resembled a human, they wore baggy sweatpants with a ribbon drawstring at the hem. Their hair was clearly short and in a sort of messy bob. Detached from their back were a set of wings that looked like they were made of water itself, with the moonlight glittering through them. A gemstone glittered between their shoulderblades where the wings would’ve met if they didn’t float. And in the dim light of the moon all she saw, was blue.

They were a gem, this was the closest Peridot ever saw a gem that wasn’t on camera, even if they were probably a mile away. Peridot was about to stand to try and get a closer look, but just as she did a car pulled up in front of her. Startled Peridot looked away and focused on the vehicle in front of her.

The person drew their window down, now  _ this  _ was the closest she’s ever been to a gem. In the car sat a short gem - taller than Peridot, but then again everyone was - she was pudgy and had a bright purple colouration. Her hair was long, wild and white and a purple gem rested in the center of her chest.

Peridot raised an eyebrow and blinked, yeah definitely a gem.

“Uhh, I’m here to pick up ‘Peridot’? You them?” She asked looking at Peridot with a small smirk, her voice was slightly raspy. Peridot blushed realizing she was staring at the gem in front of her.

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m Peridot. I’ll just put these back here.” Peridot replied with her signature nasally voice. She opened the back door and placed her bags inside, getting ready to sit down with them but stopped when the gem interrupted her.

“Yo, you can sit up here, don’t want ya to be all squished up back there with those bags.” She patted the passenger seat next to her. Peridot straightened up, not sure if she should, but decided to once she saw the grin on her driver.

Peridot climbed in after closing the back door and buckled her own seat belt, looking over she noticed the gem looking at her with a large smile and an outstretched hand. Peridot looked them in the eyes and tentatively shook their hand, suddenly nervous for this strange encounter. Her smile only grew and shook Peridot’s hand vigorously, enough to shake Peridot’s socket.

“I’m Amethyst! And I’ll be your driver tonight! So, where we headed, Peri?” She did all this while shaking Peridot’s hand, Peridot felt like her shoulder was about to be dislocated when Amethyst suddenly let go, noticing how nervous Peridot seemed. Peridot rubbed her shoulder while clenching and unclenching her hand.

“Uhh here, I have the address. And its Peridot, not ‘Peri’” She replied curtly whilst fishing a piece of paper from her pocket. She handed it to Amethyst who read it and input the address to her GPS, although admittedly with slight difficulty, and now Peridot was on the road again, although for a much shorter time.

“Aight, we’ll be therein… ten minutes Per. Man, never met someone named Peridot before who wasn’t a gem, its cool though!” Peridot inwardly sighed, yeah its ten minutes but a torturous ten minutes at that. Peridot was too tired for this.

“Say, what brings you to Beach City? Is it ‘cuz of Little Homeworld? A ton of people are movin’ here because of it but you never know.” She asked Peridot after not receiving a response from earlier. Peridot resisted the urge to open the door and jump out, she  _ really  _ didn’t want to answer questions right now, but this gem was the one taking her to her new home.

“Moving here due to, uh, my job, yeah” It wasn’t a  _ lie _ per se, technically she did have a job to do, and she would be getting a job at some point. Peridot just didn’t want to tell her that she may or may not be a half gem, who knows how she would react! Peridot fidgeted nervously, and Amethyst hummed but her curiosity was piqued. Not many people moved here for jobs.

“Cool, what’s your job? Like computers or somethin’?” She responded risking a glance at Peridot before returning her attention to the road, Peridot looked out the window and thought about what she would say.

“Um, no. I am a mechanical engineer, so machines and stuff like that.” She responded fidgeting nervously.

“Wait, so you can make robots and stuff like that. That’s so cool! Man, Pearl and you could have a total geek out dude!” Amethyst responded enthusiastically, looking over at Peridot excitedly. Meanwhile, Peridot pursed her lips going over the fact she was indirectly called a geek.

“Yes I can make robots, I have before and that is actually what I specialize in. Now why is a gem like yourself being an Uber driver, I thought gems didn’t have a need for human money?” Peridot replied albeit a bit snappish, normally she was a nervous and anxious mess on most days, but when she was tired Peridot could be very different. But this gem didn’t seem to mind if anything she  _ smiled _ .

“Yeah, I just wanna check out a bunch of different jobs, ya know? See what each of them is like, back at Little Homeworld we have a thing called Little Homeschool. And I’m one of the professors there! I help gems integrate into the human lifestyle, find out what they like and how to be independent of the diamonds. I love it, honestly. I just think it’s so cool to help others figure out what they want in life. So I’m taking all kinds of jobs to find out what they’re like and help gems as well as the humans around here.”

Peridot was surprised, she didn’t expect this from this gem. Especially with how aloof she had seemed at first. Now though, Peridot actually gained a bit of respect for this gem. She relaxed knowing that this was the kind of gems there seemed to be in Beach City.

The car slowed to a stop outside of a group of apartment buildings, they were more like townhouses than apartment buildings though. They stopped outside of a grey brick building and Amethyst grinned to Peridot when she turned back around.

“Well uh, thanks Amethyst. Here.” Peridot pulled her wallet and was about to get a twenty out when Amethyst’s hand stopped her.

“Nah, already told ya, I don’t need the money. But thanks P, let’s just say it’s on the house for listening to me talkin’ so much.” Peridot looked up at Amethyst and saw a sincere smile on her face, so she smiled too. “Its Peridot, but wow thanks! I guess I’ll get going, I guess I’ll see you again.” Peridot retracted her card and wallet and exited the vehicle.

She opened the back door and gathered her belongings, then shut the door. She was getting ready to turn around when the window rolled down.

“Hey Peri, you should totally stop by Little Homeworld sometime. We could use some mechanic people, have a nice night dude, and welcome to Beach City!” With that, she sped off.

Peridot smiled genuinely and turned towards her new home, she took a deep breath and fished her keys from her pocket, unlocking the door and entering.

Peridot closed and locked the door and looked into the living room where the front door connected. The apartment she had rented was empty save for the furniture that came with it, even then it was quite bare. There was a couch and coffee table along with a TV stand.

The walls were beige and the floors wooden, the kitchen opened up to the living room at the other end of the room, a hallway leading off to the side. Peridot poked her head into the kitchen and spotted a table and chairs, she retreated and went into the hallway spotting three doors.

The first one was a shallow closet, the next a clean bathroom that she was thankful for and the last a bedroom. She hobbled inside and threw her bags down, weariness overloading her system. She just barely shrugged her shoes off and re-set an alarm for eight in the morning (didn’t want to over over-sleep) and promptly passed out onto the queen-sized bed situated into the corner of the room.


	2. Lapis Lazuli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot meets a blue gem and reveals a few things about herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to change Peridot's height to 5" because it makes more sense. So I'll be updating Chapter One to do that, as well as another proofread for it, so if you get two updates for the story, don't mind me!

Peridot woke to the blaring of a phone alarm in her ear. Her body was stiff and her leg sore, she did not like waking up like this. She groaned,  _ really not feeling up to it _ she thought. She knew that getting up and being productive today (and every day really) was necessary, she had just moved into a new apartment after all.

Opening her eyes she was met with the sun’s unholy light and hissed like an old cat who just got their tail stomped. Closing her eyes, Peridot reached a fumbling and tired hand out for her phone to shut the alarm off. Huffing in relief she dug her face into the mattress and cringed when she felt her glasses still on her face, hopefully, they weren’t bent.

After a minute of trying to get the will to continue living, she sat up and stretched her back and arms, hearing a satisfying  _ pop _ . Now that her room was lit by something other than the streetlights outside, she saw how empty it was. There was a dresser, a nightstand and the bed she had slept on.

Peridot moved her hand to comb through her unruly triangular hair, it felt grimy. She had forgotten to take a shower after that whole trip. But luckily, the bed she slept on didn’t have sheets, so she wouldn’t have to do any extra laundry - was that a good thing? She assumed so, even a year out of college, Peridot still had that tired college student mentality.

Standing caused her to wince, her leg was very sore. Why? Because like the tired young adult she is, she forgot to take off her  _ limb enhancer, _ as she so lovingly put it. Forgetting to take off such a thing can cause the suction to bother the muscle and cause inflammation.

Today was going to be long, not only did she have to get supplies to fill her apartment, but today was the day she had wanted to start her quest, her self proclaimed mission! But the pain was not something she enjoyed. Maybe she would just have to get groceries, today could be her rest day before she would have to hit the bulk of everything.

After lightly massaging her thigh, Peridot stood and gathered her clothes from her bag. Some black loose jeans, a white t-shirt and her undergarments with black socks, then her black and green Alienware hoodie. What could she say, she was a fan of their products. She also grabbed her shower supplies - can’t take a shower without soap or a scrubby - a white towel and a large cylindrical plastic bag with a rubber band attached to it, for her leg.

The bathroom was right next to her bedroom when she entered, she closed and locked the door, no reason really just an act of habit. She got undressed and addressed the swollen pain that was her leg - it was red, inflamed and itched. Resisting the urge to scratch her stump she sat on the toilet and unclasped her prosthetic from the remains of her leg, or stump as some would say. She didn’t like referring to it like that, it just felt weird to say that.

Her left leg ended just above her knee, what was left was a scarred stump. Her prosthetic she helped design herself, most prosthetics she had seen were just poles or had a bow to balance weight and allow running, she didn’t want something like that. So when she had the opportunity in college to help design a prosthetic, Peridot took it.

Now her prosthetic was metal on the inside and had a black plastic shell exterior. It looked like a normal leg when covered which a lot of prosthetics couldn’t accomplish. The back of the knee and ankle - along with foot joints - were the only things not covered in plastic. The foot included joints and was made of more moldable plastic allowing running without a bow installed. Not only that but the suction area that connected with the lost limb had cushioning, so running wouldn’t be uncomfortable and still possible.

She placed the bag over the prosthetic and reattached it, even if it was considered waterproof, Peridot didn’t wanna take any chances. The shower was warm and for most people, it would’ve calmed them down, but Aquaphobia was a bitch and Peridot just so happened to have that. After scrubbing her body and hair so she now smelled of kiwi and lavender, Peridot hopped out and dried.

Drying herself off and getting dressed Peridot now felt refreshed, in the mirror she saw that the dark semicircles underneath her eyes had lessened. Her hair was still wet so she figured that she should maybe probably buy a hairdryer for the nth time this year. She scrubbed her hair with her towel again to try and rid it of moisture and tried to brush it into a triangular shape, knowing it would slowly form itself into her normal triangle.

She brushed her teeth and exited while wiping the steam from her glasses. When she entered her bedroom she fished a bandana from her bag. On it was what looked like a Canadian flag, except it was white and lime and belonged to her all-time favourite show Camp Pining Hearts and not the actual country that resided to the north.

After folding it, she tied it over her forehead tightly and hopefully covered her gem all the way. Now refreshed and ready for the day, Peridot decided that going to the store should be the next objective. Getting breakfast sounded good as well.

She slipped on a pair of bright green and white converse - tying the left foot extra tight as to not slip off accidentally - and left the house, locking it once out. Now that the sun was out, Peridot could see fully how nice Beach City actually was (even if she couldn’t see the actual beach). People and gems alike (although sparse) walked along the sidewalks, talking to each other and saying good morning in passing.

The early fall sun gave a comforting warmth that contrasted nicely with the slight chill in the air. The leaves on the trees that stood next to the road were turning from bright greens to fiery reds and happy yellows and oranges. The scent of the nearby ocean was also calming to Peridot in some way.

Peridot liked this, she could get used to it. Despite her slightly throbbing leg, she wanted to walk to her destination to experience Beach City - she also didn’t want another car ride with a stranger, last night was enough for the anxious little nerd.

She set her playlist and GPS for a local grocer - about a half-mile away - and began her trek. Sometimes she would pass someone on the sidewalk and they would greet her as a friend would, Peridot would only nod in response. She didn’t particularly enjoy social interaction, let alone from strangers, but it was nice.

Passing gems though, that was different. Peridot had to force her head down to keep from outright ogling at them. They were all so different, shape, size and colour, and the gems protruding from somewhere along their bodies. It almost made Peridot want to rip off her bandana off then and there and announce to the world “HEY, I’m just like you!”

But that was attention that Peridot did not want, and who knows how dangerous that could be. What would they do if they fond out there was someone - in their twenties - who was a half-gem? Steven Universe wasn’t even 18! And gems weren’t even introduced worldwide until two years ago. So what would happen when they found out there was someone who was also a half-gem.

Peridot had been subconsciously messing with the ring on her finger the whole time walking to the grocer, her breathing became faster and she began panicking, no longer listening to the GPS and just walking forward. This wasn’t a good idea, why did she come here? She was so  _ stupid  _ to think she could possibly come out of this well.

Because of her oncoming panic attack, Peridot failed to notice where she was going and ran into someone. In that brief moment of contact, Peridot noticed they were one bigger, two petite, and three strong.

She fell back and landed on her bum, successfully knocking her out of her stupor. A quiet oof exited her mouth as Peridot landed on the sidewalk. Peridot slowly looked up, the person she’d run into was the very definition of blue (save for the gold bits). Slowly looking up the person wore gold sandals with puffy blue pants with a golden ribbon tied into a bow at the hem to keep them up. A blue crop top with the top half of a star in royal blue at the bottom. Her hair was also a royal blue, short and cropped and windswept as though she had just flown (which she probably had).

She looked down at Peridot - seemingly unfazed save for the surprised expression she wore - and their eyes meet. Forest green to ocean blue, the two blushed lightly - Peridot for her anxiety and embarrassment at letting it get to her, the stranger for something entirely else, but Peridot didn’t know that - and then stuck her hand out to Peridot to help her up.

Peridot was on auto-pilot now, she just ran into a complete stranger - a gem nonetheless, who could probably beat her up without even a second thought. And they were offering to help her up, her, Peridot. She couldn’t refuse, this person was offering her help when she could obviously be doing other things with their day.

The short human grasped her hand, noticing it was cold to the touch. The gem hauled her up with little to no effort, Peridot stumbled at how fast she was brought to her feet. She immediately noticed that the gem was a head taller than herself, great, everyone in this city was taller than Peridot. The gem smiled sheepishly down a Peridot.

“I’m uh, sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I ran into you and I’m really sorry. You probably have better things to do. Sorry.” Peridot fiddled with her hands nervously, trying to keep herself preoccupied so she wouldn’t have to look at this person.

“N-no it’s fine! Really, I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the boardwalk!” She replied quickly, her hands were held out slightly. Peridot smiled back, about to reply when she realized what the stranger had said,  _ middle of the boardwalk.  _ When did Peridot get to the boardwalk? Wait, wasn’t the boardwalk near the ocean? That’s what boardwalks were for, oh no.

Peridot’s smile faltered as she looked around trying to place where she was relative to the ocean, a good hundred yards but she would’ve liked further. Another bout of anxiety started welling up, the ocean, her greatest fear. She stifled a shiver but noticeably stiffened at the revelation.

The blue gem’s face changed to one of concern “Hey, are you okay?” she asked, cautiously reaching a blue hand out to Peridot. Peridot snapped her head back to the gem, trying to pretend that she wasn’t internally panicking.

“I-I’m fine, really. Just didn’t realize I was at the boardwalk is all!” She responded quickly. The gem looked at her for a good few seconds, Peridot felt like she was being analyzed. Then she  _ snorted,  _ lifting a dainty hand up to her mouth before laughing. Peridot felt her face heat up in embarrassment, this stranger was laughing at her now, what nerve!

“Haha! You forgot you were at the boardwalk? How does that even happen?” She asked with a smile, she was still giggling. Peridot felt herself getting angry, but had to keep it cool, she had forgotten about her powers until now. She was in public, don’t do anything you may regret.

“I was distracted is all, nothing much.” She responded with a huff looking past the gem with disdain.

“By me?”

If Peridot were drinking anything she would’ve spit it out 30 feet by how caught off guard she was. Her eyes widened and her face held a look of complete shock. Looking up at the gem, she held a shit-eating grin, clearly satisfied at the reaction, the light dust of dark blue along her cheeks now completely gone. Replaced with pure confidence.

“Wha- I! N-no I just- Ughh no! No. I was just… preoccupied is all. I wasn’t looking at you, I wasn’t looking where I was going, and-” She looked back up at the stranger, who looked highly amused “Ugghhh, you’re impossible” Peridot was ready to turn around and get back to what she was doing before.

“Wait, I think we may have “gotten off on the wrong foot”, as you humans would call it… I think.” The gem quickly backtracked, trying to mend the conversation before it turned more south than it was. Peridot pursed her lips and looked back up at the lady, quirking an eyebrow.

“Okay, yes that is the right phrase. What?” She responded curtly, trying to figure a way out of this.

“Well, I’ll start” She stuck a hand out in a friendly handshake “Names Lapis, Lapis Lazuli. Nice to meet ya.” Peridot looked at the hand, looked at “Lapis”, then back to the hand. She hesitantly took her hand in her own, a small - slightly stubby - pale hand enveloped in an elegant blue embrace. The gem’s smile widened as she waited for Peridot’s response.

“Peridot Greene, nice to meet you as well.” Peridot responded before she felt the pain of her hand being held a  _ little _ too hard, she winced but didn’t pull away. Lapis clearly didn’t know the limits of pain for humans, and it hurt all the more. Lapis shook Peridot’s hand - more like arm - vigorously. Peridot tried a smile in response to this gems’ eagerness.

“Well Peri, it’s nice to meet you! I haven’t seen any humans here named after gems, you’re a first!” Lapis replied enthusiastically, still shaking Peridot’s hand. Meanwhile, Peridot was trying to keep her cool, not many people that she’s met has had this much enthusiasm.

“Y-yeah, I haven’t met any other humans with gem names either. Guess its kinda rare, huh? And my names Peridot, not Peri.” She responded, trying to free her hand from the gems’ deadly grip without seeming rude. Lapis for her part, released her grip on Peridot’s hand, moving it to her side.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before, and I’ve been around for a while. Are you new?” She questioned the small human with a raised brow, normally Lapis stayed out of human affairs - and away from humans in general - but for some reason, something about the blonde intrigued her. Something attracted Lapis to her, like a magnet.

“Well yes, actually. I just moved here yesterday, well, more like this morning.” She added the last part in a mumble. Peridot shifted her weight, her prosthetic was starting to dig into her leg from standing still so long. While her nervousness was starting to pop up again, the embarrassment from before was now gone and Peridot really didn’t like where she was right now.

Lapis took note of this and decided to start walking towards a shop at the other end of the boardwalk called “The Big Donut”, it had a giant chocolate frosted donut (statue?) on top of the building. She nodded her head towards the place, signalling that they should start walking there together.

Peridot hesitated for a second, she knew that Lapis was inviting her for a walk, but that meant more talking. Peridot wasn’t necessarily  _ busy,  _ she just had to get some things and set up her apartment. So if she said she was busy,  _ technically  _ she wouldn’t be lying and would be able to leave. But lying was bad and Peridot knew that she was very bad at lying and being rude was not something she wanted to do, so she followed the taller gem.

“Cool, I think you’ll like it here, I mean, a lot of people already do.” Lapis exclaimed, shooting a quick glance over to Peridot. Peridot had to speed walk to keep up with the taller, her long legs allowing for her to go further in a step than Peridot.

“Really, why’s that?” Peridot could already guess, but because she didn’t have any other points of conversation - that she could think of at least - she went along with the blue woman.

“Well, I mean. Ever since Steven freed gem-kind from the Diamond’s control, they’ve been coming to Little Homeworld. And humans have been coming as well to see them, and both have seemed to love it here. I do too, it’s great seeing everyone again, especially without the fear of the Diamond’s invading.”

“You say it as though you’ve been removed from gem society for a while.” Peridot inquired, curious at the way Lapis had responded.

“Well, yeah I was.” When Lapis responded, she seemed apprehensive, wondering if she should tell this random human what had happened in her past, even if she was over it. Peridot sensed the hesitation and quickly backtracked, wondering if this was somehow a sore subject.

“Y-you don’t have to tell me! I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry. Sometimes I just get too curious for my own good and ask insensitive questions!” She held her hands out in front of her, in a hopefully non-threating manner (even though it was unnecessary).

Lapis looked over at the short human frantically trying to repair a situation that honestly didn’t need any repairing. Lapis smiled at her motions - it was pretty cute to her - she huffed out a short laugh and placed a hand on Peridot’s shoulder, silencing Peridot.

“Hey, it’s okay. At one point, yeah, I would’ve been offended, but not anymore. The past is the past and doesn’t affect me anymore.” She gave a light squeeze, Peridot returned her hands to her sides. She lifted her gaze to meet Lapis’, who smiled reassuring at the anxiety-ridden being. Peridot tilted her head curiously, prompting Lapis to continue.

“Well a few years ago I was saved, I was trapped in a mirror for, stars, five - almost six - thousand years, with a cracked gem too. The only thing I was able to do was to repeat what I saw, it was horrible, unable to say anything,  _ do  _ anything. Then one day, Steven comes along and frees me, not only that but he healed me even though I stole the ocean. Not many people would be willing to help someone who did that.”

Peridot stopped walking, her attention caught when she said the name Steven in such a manner.  _ Could it be, Steven Universe? Maybe she can take me to him! And I’ll finally have some answers! _ Peridot thought excitedly, bringing a hand to her chin. Lapis stopped confused as to why she stopped.

“Peri? Are you okay? You stopped so suddenly.” Lapis asked, perplexed as to why the human would have such a reaction to what she had said. This jotted Peridot out of whatever she had been in when she looked back up to Lapis she looked excited if a little bit hesitant as to what she would say next.

“Sorry! It’s just, you know Steven, as in Steven Universe? Half-gem hero?” She exclaimed.

“Uhh, yeah I do. A bunch of people do, why?” Lapis asked, Peridot was amusing, Lapis could give her that.

“It’s just, I need to speak with him, urgently! It’s very important that I do, it’s the main reason why I came to Beach City in the first place!” She said, Peridot was excited, she could get this done with soon. Lapis smiled at the excited human, liking this much more than the anxiety-ridden one from before.

“Well, I could take you to him, if you want me too.” She replied she was sure Steven would be fine with her taking Peridot to him, he loved helping people and Peridot made it seem like she needed it.

“Yes, thank you! Um, when would you like to go, I’m not particularly busy today.” Peridot thanked the gem before her.

“We could go right now, his house isn’t too far actually.” Lapis glanced over to the cliff at the edge of the beach that had a large stone hand peeking out the side. She knew Steven’s house lay on the other side.

“That would be perfect, thank you!” Peridot happily replied, not seeing where Lapis’ gaze was. Lapis turned back to Peridot. “Let’s go then.” She reached a hand out to Peridot’s and grasped it in her own, Peridot flushed dark red, random strangers don’t just hold her hand unless it was for a shake. Lapis led them to the edge of the boardwalk, stepping on the sand heading towards the cliff.

Immediately Peridot’s flushed face paled, why were they going towards the ocean? WHY WERE THEY GOING TOWARDS THE OCEAN?! She tried stopping but Lapis’ strength and the uneven sand underneath her prosthetic wouldn’t let her. She started breathing heavy, her insides going hot then cold, anxiety rising up her throat and filling her chest like water. Her attempt at freeing herself from Lapis did not go unnoticed however and she stopped.

Lapis turned and looked worriedly down at the now seemingly terrified human, earlier she had been so excited although anxious, what gives. Peridot was having an internal meltdown, the anxiety was overwhelming the very corners of her vision going black, they were now only a bit more than a hundred feet from the shore. Peridot looked paler than she was before, her eyes wide and her hand inside of Lapis’ felt like it was trembling.

Lapis lightly squeezed her hand to get her attention, and Peridot’s eyes shot up. “Hey are you okay, you looked pretty scared, what’s wrong?” Lapis asked gently, she had learned that when someone is scared to be gentle and calming to them. Don’t push them or it could get worse. Peridot swallowed dryly before glancing at the ocean.

“I-It’s just, t-the water. I don’t- I don’t like it. It’s… scary.” Peridot confessed, she would’ve flushed with shame at admitting to being scared of water, but her fear overpowered embarrassment. Water, the life-giving essence of Earth, and she was terrified of it. Having Thalassophobia (fear of the ocean and deep waters) was one thing, almost everyone she knew had it. But to the extent that she did was strange, not only that but add her Aquaphobia and you have quite the power couple.

Lapis gave her a look of sympathy but didn’t truly understand why Peridot was acting this way, what was so terrifying of the water. It’s not like it would jump onto land and swallow her whole, well, Lapis  _ could _ make that happen, but she wouldn’t. She smiled lightly at Peridot.

“The ocean won’t hurt you, you’re okay. And we’re almost there too, Steven’s house is just around the cliff, trust me, you’ll be fine!” Peridot looked back into Lapis’s eyes and took a shaky breath, she gripped the blue hand tighter but Lapis noticed it got a bit shakier. Peridot hunched her shoulders and took a step forward, and Lapis followed suit taking the lead. Peridot gravitated to the cliff edge when the got near and basically clung to it and stayed as far as possible from the waves that broke against the shore, even if it was a hundred feet away.

When they turned the corner Peridot couldn’t help but gasp, in front of her stood a beach house with a slanted roof and what looked like an observatory on top. But that wasn’t what made Peridot gasp, it was the giant statue carved into the cliff face seemingly cradling the house in four of its many arms. It looked like a giant woman and although it was clearly degraded and ancient it still looked amazing, it had eight arms (two pairs of which holding the house), four eyes and what looked like stone gems imbedded in some places.

To Peridot it looked incredible, like something out of a fantasy novel even if it lacked its former beauty. Lapis smiled at Peridot’s reaction, happy to see the small human loosen up even if it was only for a bit. She tugged her pale friend along who was marvelling at the statue, completely forgetting the previous fear.

Lapis pondered what their interactions had become, they acted as though they were old friends even though they had only met not even an hour ago. Normally it took Lapis forever to trust someone unless they saved her or helped her as Steven had, but with Peridot she felt as though she could be herself around the blonde, it was strange.

They reached the beach house just as a group of multicoloured quartz gems with spikes exited all chattering happily to one another, they greeted Lapis with fervour when the two groups passed. Peridot was knocked out of her daze and shrunk back when the burly gems passed by. A teenager stepped out of the house donning a lab coat, gloves and a headband stethoscope, he yelled out to the quartzes.

“Be careful next time, and remember volleyball isn’t a contact sport! Man, I have to tell them that every time.” He made to turn back into the beach house before noticing Peridot and Lapis at the end of the stairs, he grinned broadly at the two. “Hey, Lapis! Didn’t expect to see you here, and who’s this you’ve got with you? Did the kid get hurt?” He asked shooting a sympathetic look at Peridot.

Peridot flushed in anger and Lapis had to hold back laughter, she let go of Peridot’s hand to put it over her mouth. “No Steven, she didn’t get hurt. She needed to see you though, said it was urgent.”

“And I am NOT a child! I do not look like a grubby kid! I am a twenty-two-year-old ADULT, thank you!” Peridot said angrily, too many people thought she was a child due to her short stature. Lapis couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed, Peridot flushed even more.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have guessed, well come in! I shouldn’t have kept you waiting like this.” He smiled reassuringly and turned towards the door to hold it open for the two ladies as they climbed the stairs, Peridot grumbling the whole way but stopped once she entered. The house was just as amazing as the outside.

The kitchen was open to the living room and only separated by an island and a staircase to her left had a painting of Steven and what looked like three other gems in it. The couch was modern and pure white with a light wood table in the middle of the room. In the corner was an alcove with more paintings and pictures, presumably leading to a bathroom.

But what caught Peridot’s attention was the cave at the opposite end of the house (large room?). There was a metallic light blue door at the end of the cave with a white star and a different coloured gem at the points. The cave had several crystals in different places along the rocky surface, and in the middle stood a light blue - seemingly made of crystal - platform that shone brightly in the light.

Peridot gaped at the beauty of the place, she’s been plenty of amazingly beautiful places in Greece and Ireland, but this rivalled the top for man-made (gem-made?). Steven smiled at Peridot and moved past the two grabbing a chair to sit in, he then gestured to another chair across from himself. Peridot snapped her mouth closed after realizing it was open and walked over to the chair, sitting in it herself.

Lapis stood next to Steven, smiling happily at Peridot who now looked nervous.  _ This feels more like an interrogation for some reason. _ She thought, pursing her lips. Steven grinned and clasped his gloved hands together after taking off the stethoscope from his head, he didn’t know why he wore it, it added to the doctor vibe he liked.

“So, let’s begin! Miss... “ He trailed off, looking at her “Peridot, Peridot Greene” she answered his unsaid question. His smile brightened and he reached a large hand out across the table which Peridot grasped, his hand almost dwarfed hers.

“Well, Miss Peridot I’m Steven Universe, but you probably already knew that!” He said with a chuckle. “So! What seems to be the problem? Lapis said you weren’t hurt.” He asked, curious as to why a human needed his help if they weren’t hurt.

At this Peridot felt a spike of anxiety, it was now or never she told herself. The gem embedded in her skull had been forgotten earlier from her conversation with Lapis and now it seemed to be emanating anxiety only she could feel. She took a deep shaky breath and steeled herself for the reactions that were sure to come.

“Well, you see, the thing is…” She hesitated, not knowing how to continue, she pursed her lips tightly. Reaching a small shaky hand to the bandana tied tightly around her head. This earned questioning looks from both people across from her. “I’ll just have to show you.”

She untied the bandana and pulled it away from herself, showing the bright green triangular gem that shone proudly from her forehead. Peridot’s gaze immediately shot down to the table, tying the bandana into knots in her hands. She gulped nervously.

The reaction was immediate, Lapis gasped eyes widening, stiffening while a hand shot up to cover her mouth. All previous excitement from earlier left the room. Meanwhile, Steven stared at the gem jutting from the seemingly human’s forehead. And only one word exited his mouth.

“Oh”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry late Christmas you little feckers!
> 
> Like, HOLY SHIT DUDE  
> I did not expect this story to get as many Kudos, comments and hits as it did! Thank you, best Christmas present ever man!
> 
> I meant to get this out Christmas but things happen and you can't have everything, so I'm posting this at three in the morning. But thank you guys for convincing me to continue this and encourage me, I honestly wasn't going to continue cuz' I only expected a few Kudos at the most, so really, thanks!!
> 
> Also, I've been using Grammarly to help with writing and heckin heck does it help, I would suggest getting it, it's free and extremely easy to use! It works with pretty much every writing platform that I've seen (I use Google Docs then proofread on Grammarly's writing docs)
> 
> When writing I've been listing to American Authors - a band I recently rediscovered - and I love the music (they made Best Day Of My Life) I would suggest listening!
> 
> If you wish to see more, be sure to leave kudos and a comment!


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